Eyefinity broadens our horizons
Eyefinity was one of the first news of the Radeon HD 5000 family that AMD presented officially and most of you have most likely already read about it our news reports. Eyefinity isn’t really a new concept since it is simply about connecting multiple monitors to a single graphics card, but AMD has taken it to a whole new level.
It has been possible to connect two monitors to one graphics card for some time, but Matrox, but also AMD, have offered special graphics cards with multiple monitor connectors. These are mainly intended for professional users looking to expand their workspace, while Eyefinity also targets gamers.
First of all it should be made clear that all GPUs of the Evergreen/HD 5000 family supports Eyefinity. Each graphics card will be able to power three separate monitors with 2560×1600 pixel resolution each. The thing that makes AMD’s multi-monitor solution great is that all three outputs supports 3D and that the picture is not stretched across the screens but actually offers a wider field of view.
If we connect three 24″ monitors with 1920×1200 pixel resolution to one Radeon HD 5870 we can play games at 5760×1200 pixels by simply setting the resolution in Windows and ATI’s Catalyst drivers. There is no need for third-party support in the games you play.
With three monitors lined up AMD claims to offer a whole new gaming experience and thanks to its powerful GPUs there are no problems getting enough pixels out. The card should offer acceptable frame rates despite the high resolutions. We will be looking at Eyefinity from both a performance functional standpoint in future articles so this is it for now.
 2 out of 3 is at least something |
Eyefinity6 kills budgets with six monitor outputs
If the support for three monitors isn’t enough, which all Radeon HD 5000 cards offer, AMD has designed a unique graphics card called ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity6 Edition sporting six mini-DisplayPort outputs that can connect to six monitors with a total resolution of 7680×4800 pixels. It’s possible to build several different multi-monitor setups with this card, but to be completely frank it’s hard to see this as a genuine retail product.
ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity6 Edition
Exactly when the card will launch hasn’t been revealed and AMD refused to share any more details on what hides under the cooler. Tough getting the cash to spend on six new monitors could be problematic enough, two monitors with thick bezels in the exact middle of your sight is not what you would call optimal for gaming.
The regular Eyefinity technology feels a bit more interesting with three monitors in width, which does result in two joints, but at least one of them isn’t in the exact middle of your field of view. We presume simulator fans will be happy about AMD’s initiative, but also the regular gamers or those who are simply looking for a bigger desktop.
It’s time to present the graphics card you’ve been waiting for.
